Daniel Wille, a Little Snake River Valley School senior, breaks loose during the first quarter Friday against Farson-Eden High School in Baggs, Wyo. Wille ran for two touchdowns and returned an interception for another in a 63-30 victory over the Pronghorns.

LSRV Rattlers use early surge to cap undefeated regular season

Conner Lee, a Little Snake River Valley School junior, runs down the sideline Friday during a punt return against Farson-Eden High School in Baggs, Wyo. Lee returned a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown and added a receiving touchdown to help lead the Rattlers to a 63-30 victory.

Photo by Michelle Balleck

Rex Stanley, a Little Snake River Valley School senior, brings down a pass Friday against Farson-Eden High School in Baggs, Wyo. The Rattlers finished the regular season 8-0 and will host a first-round playoff game next week in Baggs.

Results

Box score from the Little Snake River Valley six-man varsity football game Friday against Farson-Eden High School in Baggs, Wyo.:

BAGGS, WYO.  As Daniel Wille led his team to the sidelines Friday in Baggs, Wyo., the Little Snake River Valley School senior smiled as he grabbed his teammates’ hands.

Together, the LSRV six-man varsity football team sang the school’s fight song to family and friends in attendance.

The Rattlers scored 43 first-quarter points in their regular-season finale against Farson-Eden High School on way to a 63-30 victory.

The win was the 18th in a row for LSRV and capped a perfect 8-0 regular season for a second straight year.

“It is always a good game when it is senior day, so this win felt good,” Wille said after the game. “This was the last regular season game us seniors will ever play here, and we ended with a perfect record.”

Wille got the Rattlers going early, running for 72 yards and a touchdown on the team’s first play from the line of scrimmage.

On Farson-Eden’s ensuing drive, the senior picked off Pronghorn senior Jesse Reed and returned the interception for a touchdown.

Wille also had a 39-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter.

“I thought we executed a lot better than last week,” Wille said. “It was different competition, but we came out and executed a lot better and just went back to the basics.”

The Rattlers had their closest game of the season last week at Midwest School, turning an early 14-0 deficit into a 68-52 win.

Head coach Mike Bates said after last week’s break in responsibility on defense, he felt his team was able to stay at home Friday.

“I don’t think we have peaked yet, but I think we improved,” Bates said. “After last week and being out of our responsibilities, we made adjustments and came back playing well (Friday).”

Including Wille’s interception return, the Rattlers picked Farson-Eden off three times.

Juniors Conner Lee and Cole Gourlay both picked off Reed within 1 minute of each other in the first quarter.

Offensively, Bates said he hoped to get the passing game going against the Pronghorns.

In the first quarter, Filip hit Lee for a 2-yard touchdown pass and senior Rex Stanley for a 40-yard touchdown pass.

While the second-string offense played the entire second quarter, Filip and the first-string offense started the third quarter.

On the first play of the second half, Filip connected with junior Manuel Quinteros for a 65-yard touchdown pass.

“I wish we could have kept our varsity in longer, but we are the No. 1 team going up against the No. 4 team,” Bates said. “We executed our game plan well and the varsity did what they needed to do when they were out there.”

The Pronghorns didn’t score until the second quarter against the Rattlers’ second-string defense.

While Farson-Eden put up a three touchdowns in the second half, the Rattlers’ special teams kept the Pronghorns at a distance.

Lee returned a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in the second half.

Despite the victory, Wille said the team still has room to improve.

“On defense, we have to continue to know our assignments,” he said. “We struggled with the hook-and-latter, so we need to make sure to improve so other teams don’t see that and run at our weakness.”

The Rattlers’ don’t know yet who they play in their first-round playoff game, but Bates said the experience from last year’s state championship team and home-field advantage will help his team.

“We have players who know what it takes to get to Laramie and the state championship,” he said. “We have two guaranteed home games, and I think we play better (at home).